1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image drawing apparatus for drawing a three-dimensional image on a screen at a high speed.
2. Description of the Related Art
One conventional drawing technique computes every dot (pixel) of a three-dimensional object and draws an image of the object on a screen. This technique handles an enormous amount of three-dimensional data to draw the image dot by dot and provide the image with stereoscopic and texture effects on the screen.
Another conventional drawing technique that is relatively fast relies on
(1) using variables for describing colors and simple shapes involving color values, widths, heights, etc., and
(2) drawing simple shapes such as ellipses, rectangles, and triangles of specified sizes and shapes,
(3) a specified color.
Here, providing an image with a texture effect means to draw and color the image in a way so as to provide the image with a metal-like, wood-like, or cloth-like feel.
The former conventional technique is not proper for high-speed drawing because it computes every dot of an image. The latter conventional technique is capable of drawing only a simple figure with a single color, so that it is not suitable for drawing a three-dimensional image having a metallic touch and smooth curves.